Meeting the Challenge of Triple Net-Zero Sustainability

We selected a former dentist’s office, architecturally undistinguished, and set up to rely heavily on air conditioning to keep it comfortable. As with any client, we had to test what was most important to us in light of a modest construction budget and a need to move into the new building as quickly as possible. Through discussion, we settled on the importance of making space that pushed sustainable design as far as we could and improved the environmental quality of our surroundings. Reusing an energy-inefficient building offered us the opportunity to test out many ideas we had about regenerative bioclimatic design; we were our own skunkworks. From a form-making perspective, we wanted to heighten a viewer’s awareness of the transformed building to its site, and the site to the neighborhood. Given how car-dominated the urban experience of Phoenix is, we wanted to create a caesura, a rest that provides separation and makes the whole more apparent.

Our “architecture for everyone” philosophy gave all of our staff a high-quality working environment, making comfortable work spaces and shaded outdoor areas for breaks and team use. True to our values, we worked collectively to develop the program and realize the design concept. We developed a parti that looked to the Living Building Challenge for sustainable design strategies. The building was wrapped with continuous insulation and re-clad. A scrim of kebonized wood fins surrounds the structure on three sides, reducing heat gain and glare, and the fourth side is shaded by a tall hedge planted close to the building. The building layout places staff areas away from the glare and heat of west-facing windows.

We demolished down to the building shell, reusing most of the masonry and overseeing the recycling of all building materials to the greatest possible extent. We raised the walls to 15 feet to improve acoustics and occupant comfort. A set of skylights works in tandem with the building’s doors to provide natural ventilation for nine months out of the year and night flushing by creating a chimney effect. Operable skylights and windows circulate cool air toward work areas and flush hot air out of the roof. We embarked in depth on how to apply the net-zero water principles of the Living Building Challenge to our site, working with manufacturers and local permitting staff on the black water reuse system. Photovoltaics net out our energy use. We rely on natural light for most of the year. Architecture for everyone considers not only the well-being of our staff, but also makes a better public realm. The xeriscape grounds are opened to the street, a rarity in Phoenix. The sculptural form of the louver structure elicits a push-pull with the grounds and the streetscape that is emblematic of our architectural philosophy of heightening appreciation of our context.